MetalEd

As I pull pieces off the engine to fix problems or replace worn parts/gaskets, I would like to detail each piece with the correct paint color. It's a real mess right now with the wrong colors and incorrect paint type used. Everything was painted Blue, not black and red like my year/size should have been and regular paint was used instead of Hi-temp Engine Enamel on a lot of parts! Since I have never painted the engine, I have a couple questions.
I looked at the instructions for engine painting at: http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/...nes/index.html

A couple of things I did not see mentioned in this article is primer or dealing with rust. Do you use a primer with hi-temp enamel or do you just apply the paint direct to the bare metal after stripping like it appears tehy did in the article?
How about rust spotting? My exhaust manifold is covered with tons of "Dust" rust or spotting. Since it is cast and not a smooth surface, I assume it would have to be media blasted to remove the rust to be the best paint job. But would it be incorrect to clean it up (degreaser and paint remover) and rub it down with a brass wire brush, then spray directly over it with REAL HI-TEMP (1250-F) exhaust paint without sand blasting it first?
Last question, can you use any type of body filler on engine parts? My air filter cover is dented in several places. I plan to hammer out the major dents. But can I use body filler to fill in any hammer marks and scratches, then paint with hi-temp engine paint. Or would the bondo/filler bakeoff/peal the paint? Just hammer it out as close to "straight" as possible and paint?
Any advice on engine painting procedures would be greatly appreciated!

coda618

I clean all parts with brake klean before paint. The engine bright and other degresers leave a film. Brake Klean does not and it cleans great. For the manifold, use a wire brush to get the surface rust off. I use the wire cup brushes attached to the end of a drill. You can get them at home depot. Also, as a final prep before paint, I treat the metal with phosphoric acid (Phosphate Plus is the brand name I use from home depot). This eats away any left over rust that the brush did not get. Also leave the metal primed for paint. I do not use primer on the engine, just the phosphoric acid. One of the reasons engine paint often peels is that there are to many coats of primer and paint. With constant expansion and contraction from heating cycles, the thicker the paint, the more likely it is to crack and chip. Use engine paint (no need for the super high temp manifold / header paint on engine itself). Two light/dry coats adn one medium coat. On seondary parts such as brackets, air cleaner etc. you can use a little filler (read skim coat) any thicker and it will likely crack from the constant cycle of heat and cool.

MetalEd

Amazing! I had never heard of the Phosphoric Acid in vehicle painting before. My local Home Depot did not have the brand you mentioned and the only one they had (Klean Strip - Prep and Etch) was very hard to find. But it was well worth it! The dust rust is gone and the paint job looks so very professional compared to the piece I painted yesterday without the acid. The 45 year old pieces look brand spanking new!
I really like that I can brush it on or spray it on. I think I am going to try it when I start painting the body as well since I have a gallon of the stuff!
Wonderful tip (all of them!), thanx!

coda618

Another tip, if you have heavy rust, you can soak smaller peices in the stuff. Make sure you rinse with water afterward. Also, if working on heavy rust, I generally let it soak or keep brushing it on so it stays wet. I will then hit it with the wire brush to remove the rust that has turned black. Then again with the acid. On heavier stuff it take a little elbow grease, but works really well in my opinion.

Oh, and where goggles and gloves. Tends to burn a little on th skin and I can only imagine how it would feel in your eye.

Glad to help, Good luck.

JMD

The fast way is to use aircraft stripper to clean the parts of grease, oil, and paint and then to scuff/clean with a scotch-bright or 180 grit paper and water/dawn dishwashing detergent, lightly prime then paint..

The stripper is messy, it burns, and not so fun, but it gets a lot of stuff done at one time. Saves a sh!tload of time and effort.

A couple of different style wire brushs for use in a DRILL PRESS or even a cordless drill is a time saver also.

A wire brush chucked into a drill press leaves you two hands to clean the hell out of parts.